Western Wats pays $500,000 penalty

OREM — Western Wats Center Inc. has paid $500,000 in civil money penalties following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation that disclosed violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's child labor regulations, the department said Tuesday.

Western Wats is a market research company based in Orem with locations throughout Utah and six other states.

The department's Wage and Hour Division district office in Salt Lake City assessed a penalty in last August for the company's employment of 1,482 minors in violation of the FLSA's child labor hours and time standards. With the exception of three 13-year-olds, the minors were 14 and 15 years old and primarily employed as interviewers at the company's phone centers in Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Idaho, the department said.

Western Wats started new timecard and payroll systems and new training programs and hiring practices as part of its effort to achieve future compliance with the FLSA's provisions, the department said. The company also hired independent legal and accounting firms to review its employment practices.